Today I had the pleasure of loading up some 1 and 2 wt rods and heading down to Les's place to do some testing (and fishing!). Les has already posted a quick report on the Finesse and that thread kind of went sideways so I'm starting a new one and adding some photos.
(Finesse 1 wt with Ross Colorado)Let me say up front that I've been wanting to try one of these 1 weights since they first came out but no one around here keeps the 1 wt in stock. When Les told me the good folks at TFO were kind enough to loan us one for testing I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was *not* disappointed.
Today we compared the Finesse with 3 other rods but we're not calling this a shootout because of the price range of the other rods. I took my Sage TXL 7'10" 1 wt, Orvis Trout Bum 7'6" 1 wt, and Orvis Superfine 6' 2 wt. All three of these rods originally retailed at $575 where the Finesse sells for $179. In fact, even used any of these three rods will probably cost you at least $100 more than the TFO. The main reason we tested against these other rods is because of the little bit of fuss that's come up over whether the Finesse is a *true* 1 weight (and pardon me for stealing a phrase from Napoleon Dynamite--"
like anyone could even know that"
).
A quick bit of background. I own or have owned the following 1 wts:
- Orvis current 7'6" Superfine Trout Bum
- Orvis original 7'6" (unsanded) Superfine
- Sage TXL 7'10"
And I've had the opportunity to fish the Dan Craft 6'10" 1 wt. So coming into this I've had some experience with 1 wt rods and definitely have some opinions, but they're just that--opinions. At the end of the day everyone has to decide for themselves.
So let's get right to the point and provide some photos to back it up. Out of the 4 rods we tried today the 6' 2 wt Superfine was the fasted of the bunch and Les and I both thought it handled beautifully with WF2. The next fastest rod, and the fastest 1wt was the TXL--easily my all-time favorite 1 wt. The Finesse came next being a little softer than the TXL and not quite as powerful, but it's a little faster than the 7'6" Trout Bum. In my opinion the action of the Finesse was closer to the Superfine. I think if you cut the 7'6" Superfine down to 6'9" they might feel very close.
We tried 3 different 1 wt lines on the Finesse and neither of us had any trouble casting any of the 3 lines--a 444 SL, Orvis Silver Label, and a Rio LT. We both thought it did best with the LT but I really liked it with the Silver Label as well.
Here are some photos:
These are Les and I both casting the Finesse (I think the line was the Silver Label). You can see that there was no problem at all throwing nice loops with this thing.
With this next series I had about 10' of line out plus the leader and I pinned my line hand to my side just to see how the rod would do with a short section of line out and no help from the line hand. As you can see it casts a short line very nicely.
Here are a few shots of Les with the 6' 2 wt for comparison
And Les with the TXL
So to sum up our feelings on the line weight question--Les and I both feel like the Finesse performs beautifully with a 1 wt line. I could easily cast anywhere from 10' out to 35'+ and Les could do just as well up close and had no trouble beating my distance.
Let me also add here that we fished a small creek all afternoon and I found that I can roll-cast the Finesse better than any 1 wt that I've fished. I'm not a great roll-caster but I didn't have any problem popping out nice little casts with this rod. And Les could punch beautiful roll casts.
After a *lot* of casting and even more photos we put the extra rods away and headed down into the creek. Les fished the Finesse and I took my little 2wt 6' Superfine. We dropped below freezing last night so the water was pretty cool today and things started off pretty slow. We had plenty of time to play around casting in the creek at different distances, etc. Les had a tandem rig on the Finesse and it handled it very nicely. Even with that rig we were both able to fish in close--8' to 10', out to 25' or so which is a very long cast on that little creek.
One thing I noticed right away is that the Finesse is really a better small-creek rod than my TXL. This creek has high banks along most of it, with a lot of growth on both sides. The TXL feels a little too long in situations like this as does the Trout Bum being only 4" shorter than the TXL. At 6'9" the Finesse was right at home. Still long enough to be a good roll-caster but not so long that you're getting hung up all the time. At an even 6' my other Superfine is a great creek rod except that I can't roll cast it very well at all.
A little color along the creek
Fishing was pretty slow most of the day but late afternoon it turned on for 30 minutes or so and we both caught probably a dozen. Most weren't too big but they were pretty.
Let me finish this up with a few stats. The rod is listed on the TFO site at 2.4oz but it felt lighter than that to me. When we got back to Les's house we weighed and were pleased to see it coming in at 2.1 oz. This is a nice break from Sage who typically list their rods with a weight significantly less than what it actually weighs (this has been discussed in other threads and I weighed 5 or 6 of my Sage rods from all different eras, and every one weighed more than was listed on the rod).
This is also a 4 pc rod which means this thing is going to fit perfectly in an 18" rod tube and will go *inside* of your carry-on luggage for those of us who fly a lot. That beats the heck out of a 32" TXL rod tube and even makes the 26" Trout Bum tube look long.
Of course you will have to buy your own rod tube as the $179 does not include one. I know this is a sore spot with a lot of folks. Les and I talked about it a bit and neither of us will take a rod fishing without putting it in a tube, and no one I fish with does either. I understand that in larger and heavier rod sizes it's common to put several rods in one big sturdy travel tube but I don't think that's the case with UL anglers. Now having whined about it a bit I will admit that I usually have 3 or 4 empty tubes lying around but I still think it would help TFO out a bit to include one. Do like Redington and include a cordura covered PVC tube with an integral sock. Buying in quantity they can get them a lot cheaper than we can and I'd gladly pay $10 more for a rod with a correctly sized tube, and it would be one less thing for folks to complain about.
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So let me sum up this long meandering post. If you're in the market for a 1 wt rod your choices are limited. As of today if you're buying new at retail prices you can get a TXL-F at $625, the new Superfines at $475, or the Finesse at $179.
Buying a used TXL or Superfine will probably still run you a $100 more than the Finesse. You might find an older SPL or original Superfine but you'll probably still be spending more than you would on the Finesse.
Buy a Finesse, a $15-25 sale priced Silver Label line, and a used BBS I or BP Classic UL reel and you're going to have a great little 1 wt outfit complete for $275 or so.
Here's where I think the Finesse fits:
- You like the current generation (Trout Bum) Superfines but would like something a bit faster (and cheaper)
- You like the TXL but don't want to break the bank
- You'd like something just a bit slower than the TXL
- You fish mostly small water and are looking for a great little short 1 wt
- You like fast-ish rods and want to make the jump into UL without spending a lot
- You need a great little 1 wt car rod that's a blast to fish
And if any of the following are true you probably don't want this rod:
- You long for the original unsanded Superfines because the new ones are too fast
- You prefer a nice relaxed fiberglass or cane type of action
- You're brand new to fly-fishing (I'd recommend at least a 3 wt to learn on)
I liked this rod a lot! After all the stuff being said about it I was really expecting a heavier beefy super-fast rod. That was not the case at all. This thing is a lot of fun to cast and even more fun to fish. The diameter of the grip is just right for me although I'd take some of the flair off the back. It fits very comfortably in my hand. It's a very pretty rod too, with a nice green blank and good looking hardware.
I definitely think it's a very good buy for the price and I'm very happy to see TFO taking the chance of putting a great little UL 1 wt on the market.
Jerry
(I have no association with TFO, Sage or Orvis, other than liking their rods... a lot)